Alarm set indicating means



July 20, 1965 w. c. WINGLER ALARM SET INDICATING MEANS z, 6 9 1 m a b e F d e l 1 F [n Mentor.- MY/Aam -62 14/07 M:

United States Patent 3,195,300 ALARM SET INDICATING MEANS William C. Wingler, Northboro, Mass, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 14, 1%2, Ser. No. 173,296 1 Claim. (Cl. 58-22.7)

This invention relates to alarm clocks and more particularly to an illuminating indicating means which will tell the user of an alarm clock whether the clock alarm mechanism has been set to operate.

In a co-pending application of Harry Albinger and Chester B. Marble, Serial No. 173,295, filed February 14, 1962, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, there is disclosed an arrangement for visibly indicating in a darkroom whether an alarm clock mechanism has been set to operate. The arrangement includes a control member for causing a spot of light to appear on the clock dial. The present invention is concerned with such an alarm set indicating means.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the invention to provide a reliable, low cost, unique, alarm clock mechanism which will visibly indicate whether the alarm has been set.

Another object of the invention is to provide an alarm clock having an edge lighted lens for illuminating the clock dial with a reliable and low cost indicating means which will tell the user whether the alarm has been set.

According to one aspect of the invention, an alarm clock having a dial with a small portion adapted to permit the passage of light therethrough is provided with an improved alarm set indicating means. By positioning a light source behind the dial for passing light through the small dial portion, a spot of light is visible on the dial when the clock is in darkened surroundings. This spot of light becomes a visible indicator of the condition of the clock alarm by providing the clock with a shutter and lever mechanism operated by a manually movable alarm shut-off lever. More specifically, a pivotally mounted shutter lever may be provided having one end adapted to be moved by the clock alarm shut-off lever and the other end having a shutter mounted thereon extending between the small dial portion and the light source. The shutter and shutter lever are arranged with respect to the small dial portion and the shut-off lever such that the shutter prevents the light spot from appearing on the dial when the shut-off lever is in its alarm off position, and the shutter does not prevent light from passing through the hole when the shut-off lever is in its alarm on or set position, so that a light spot will appear on the dial when the alarm mechanism is set to operate.

Further objects, features and advantages will become apparent with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of an alarm clock incorporating the alarm set indicating mechanism of the invention showing the shutter and shutter lever in its two positions;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the alarm clock in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of the alarm clock of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the unique shutter and shutter lever of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings and first particularly to FIG. 2, an alarm clock in which the improved indicating mechanism may be employed may be seen as including a self-starting synchronous motor comprising a motor stator magnet core 10, an energizing coil 12, and a motor gear reduction casing 14. The motor and other clock components are shown supported by a rear plate 16, middle plate 18 and front plate 20 connected by a pair of pillars 22 and 24. The clock may be provided with a slidably mounted shut-off lever 26, which is disposed in ice a vertical position, as more clearly seen in FIG. 3. The shut-off lever is adapted to control the movement of a blocking lever 28, which in turn controls the movement of a suitable alarm vibrator 29 which may be of the resilient, magnetically operated type. When not restrained by the blocking lever 28, the vibrator 2.9 vibrates against pole 31, attached to core 10, to produce an audible alarm. A rearwardly extending stud 30 attached to the shut-off lever 26 provides an external control by which the lever may be manually reciprocated to the alarm off or the alarm on positions.

To enable a user to observe the correct time in a darkened room, it is desirable to provide an alarm clock with an illuminated dial. For this purpose, the clock is provided with a unique lighting arrangement including a translucent dial 32 backed by an opaque mask 34 and a lens 36, which is lighted by an illuminating source positioned adjacent one edge of the lens. The source of illumination includes a lamp holder 40 containing and supporting a lamp 42 which is connected by conducting wires 44 to one of the motor coils 12. The holder 40 directs the light from lamp 42 towards the lens 36, as seen in FIG. 2.

Suitable indicia may be located on the central or face portion of the translucent dial so as to be readily seen by an observer, the clock face being outlined by the dotted line 40 in FIG. 1, which represents the inner edge of the mask 34. The border portion of the dial surrounding the clock face is completely backed by the mask 34 except as will be hereinafter described. The centrally aligned lens 36 may be formed of any suitable material such as glass or plastic normally employed for edge lighted applications and may be provided with suitable reflective surfaces (not shown) which will direct the light forwardly from the illumination source. With this unique lighting arrangement, the entire dial face is easily observed during the daytime; however, at night, when the internal illumination becomes visible, the illuminated portion of the dial is considerably decreased because of the shielding effect of the opaque mask 34. This arrangement provides a dial of sufficient size for daytime use and nighttime use while keeping the lighted area to a minimum during the nighttime.

In accordance with the invention, an indicating arrangement is provided which will tell a user whether the clock alarm is in the off position or has been set to operate at a specified time. For this purpose, the mask 34 is formed with a small hole 46, as seen in FIG. 1, and the lens 36 is formed with a beveled edge 48, FIG. 2, which is aligned with the opening 46 so that light travelling edgewise through the lens and striking the beveled surface 48 will be reflected forwardly through the hole 46 and appear as a light spot on the dial 32. This spot will be clearly visible when the clock is in a darkened surrounding.

In order to utilize this light spot as an indicating means, the clock is provided, in accordance with the invention, with a low cost shutter assembly which is rugged and reliable. The assembly includes a uniquely shaped shutter lever 50, which is pivotally mounted by suitable fastening means, such as screw 52, to the front support plate 20. As may be seen from FIG. 4, one end 54 of the lever is bifurcated or forked to provide a slot adapted to fit over stud 30. With this arrangement, the shutter lever end 54 slides relative to the stud as the stud is moved up and down to the alarm off and the alarm set positions, while still maintaining contact with the shut off lever. The shutter assembly also includes, mounted on the opposite end 56 of the shutter lever 50, a thin shutter 58 having an aperture 60 therein. In operation, the shutter 58 extends between the lens 36 and the mask 34 and consequently should be relatively thin to provide sufficient tolerance and the necessary freedom of movement to furnish reliable operation. The shutter lever Ell and shutter 53 could, of course, be made as an integral part; however, since the strength requirements of the two components are considerably difierent they are preferably made separately. As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 4, the shutter lever is a very irregularly shaped member which must be sufliciently rugged so as not to lose its shape as the lever is pivoted.

In order to appreciate the uniqueness of the shutter lever 50, it will be described in detail. The bifurcated end portion 54'- leads into a portion 62, which must extend to the right sutficiently, as viewed in FIG. 2, to clear the clock motor as the lever is pivoted. The portion 64 extends the lever forwardly to the plane of the front plate 20 to its pivoting point at screw 52. The downwardly extending portion 66 is necessary to provide suflicient movement of the shutter 58 as the lever is pivoted. That is, the portion 66 must be long enough to provide the necessary-arcuate movement for shutter 53 to perform its function, as will be hereinafter described. Finally, the end portion 56 extends forwardly the proper distance such that the shutter 58 may extend between lens 36 and mask 34 and will move in a plane parallel to the lens and mask. In spite of-its irregular shape, the lever is relatively inexpensive to fabricate.

In accordance with the invention, the shutter lever and shutter 58 are arranged with respect to the hole 46 in the mask 34 such that when the shut-off lever 26 is in the down or alarm off position, as indicated by the broken outline 68 in FIG. 1, the solid portion 53a of the shutter 58 is disposed immediately behind the opening 46 in the mask 34. Consequently, the light rays reflected forwardly by the beveled edge 48 of the lens 36 are interrupted by the shutter, and 'a spot of light will not appear on the dial 32. Thus, a user in a darkened room can easily see at a glance that the alarm mechanism has not been set. Conversely, when the shutter lever 50 has been moved to the upper alarm on or alarm set position, as indicated by the broken outline '70 seen in FIG. 1, the shutter lever has been pivoted in a clockwise direction moving the shutter 58 to the left as seen in FIG. 1 so that the aperture 60 is aligned with hole 46 in the mask 34. Thus, reflected light rays from the beveled edge 48 appear as a visible spot on the dial 32 and the user can easily see in a darkened room that the alarm has been set. Thus, it should be appreciated that a uniquely formed shutter and lever arrangement has been shown and described by which the position of the alarm mechanism in an alarm clock can be quickly determined in a darkened room.

While a particular embodiment of this invention has been illustrated and described, modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, the shutter 58 has been illustrated as having an aperture therein, but it will be appreciated that the same result may be obtained by moving the shutter completely out of line with the light spot. Accordingly, it should be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular arrangement disclosed and it is intended in the appended claim to cover all modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invent-ion.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

In an alarm clock, a translucent dial having a clock face portion and a surrounding border, an opaque mask positioned behind said border, a lens positioned behind said mask aligned with the face portion of said dial and surrounding portions of said border and said mask, a light source positioned adjacent one edge of said lens for illuminating said dial, the edge of said lens opposite said light source being beveled to reflect light toward said dial, said maskhaving a hole aligned with said beveled edge such that light striking said beveled edge passes through :said hole so that alight spot appears on said dial border when the clock is in a darkened surrounding, an alarm mechanism including an alarm shut-off lever moveable generally parallel to said dial and a stud attached to said lever to reciprocate said lever, said lever and said stud being manually moveable between an alarm off and an alarm set position, a pivotally mounted shutter lever having a bifurcated end fitting over said stud and moved by said stud as said shut-oil lever ismoved between its alarm oil and alarm set positions, a shutter connected to the opposite end of said shutter lever and positioned for movement generally parallel to said dial between said mask and said lens, said shutter having a solid'portion and an aperture, said shutter and said shutter lever being arranged with respect to said hole in said mask such that said aperture in said shutter is moved into alignment with said hole in said mask when said shut-oil? lever is moved to the alarm set position to permit light to pass through said hole so that the light spot will appear on said dial border, and said solid portion of said shutter is moved into alignment with said hole in said mask to block the passage of light through said hole when said shut-off lever is moved to the alarm of)? position so that the light spot will not appear on said dial, and said translucent dial shielding said hole from view through said clock dial face so that said hole and said pivotally mounted shutter are invisible when said shutter prevents light from said light source from passing through said hole.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,097,487 11/37 Kinnear 58--22.7 X 2,605,336 7/52 Munroe 340373 2,612,133 9/52 Crawford 240-116 2,627,837 2/53 Ginter 116-135 2,955,411 10/60 Libman 5885.5 3,043,038 7/62 Marble 40130 3,081,594 3/63 Atkins et al 5850 FOREIGN PATENTS 774,735 5/57 Great Britain.

LEO SMILOW, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH P. STRIZAK, Examiner. 

